1. S OCIAL D EVELOPMENT The Middle Years

2. T HE M IDDLE Y EARS Friendships become deeper and more important Look for good qualities in friends: Loyalty Trustworthiness Kindness Understanding Fun

3. F RIENDS, F RIENDS, F RIENDS Still stay active, but now also spend a lot more time talking with friends Physical, emotional, and cognitive development all play into social development Often talk to friends about the changes they are going through

4. F ITTING I N AND S ELF -E STEEM Acceptance by others is strongly tied to high self-esteem Pre-teens who feel they “fit in” often are more confident Leads to stronger friendships that last longer, as well as being successful in school Feeling rejected, left out or excluded affects relationships and school performance negatively

5. G ROUP P ARTICIPATION Begin to participate in peer groups May include classmates, team members, club members and others who live in the neighborhood Participation in groups can help boost confidence, as well as peer acceptance

6. P OPULARITY Number of friends vary from person to person Depends on the environment they spend their time in Some judge friendships by popularity rather than strength of the friendships they have

7. G ENDER P LAYS A R OLE Gender begins to play a role in who pre-teens are friends with Begin to have a strong interest in the opposite gender, though they aren’t ready for boyfriends and girlfriends Social development should be judged by the ability to form and maintain friends – not the number of friends

8. A NGER D URING THE M IDDLE Y EARS Conflicts still arise as children grow Often arise because of envy, jealousy, and gossip Use words to express anger at this stage Can have anger rise to a physical level – tends to be pre-teen boys more then girls

9. B ULLIES SUCK Bullying can emerge and become prominent during this stage Bullying is the direct aggression or abuse towards another person Takes many forms Often referred to as pushing, shoving, or other physical abuse Can also be teasing, name calling, spreading rumors or making rude comments

10. B ULLIES SUCK Bullying can have physical and emotional effects on victims Most victims do not report being bullied because of fear that bullying will continue or even escalate

11. M ORALS B ECOME V ERY I MPORTANT During the middle years, children become more independent Making morally correct decisions on their own becomes important Parents and adults should have discussions about situations that could come up or have come up Make sure kids understand empathy Encourage kids to use their conscience

12. P EER P RESSURE Acceptance by peers becomes important – but can lead to peer pressure Parents need to discuss peer pressure with pre-teens, as well as why it is important to not give into peer pressure Drive to conform to each other is high Most teens don’t want to stand out or be different Though often looked at as negative, positive peer pressure can exist